We are saying something profound about Scripture when we say that it is authoritative. We confess that Scripture trumps all other sources when it comes to being the source of spiritual truth and revelation. There is nothing above the Scripture that can explain it, or tell us definitively why we exist, or why life has meaning. In this view, yes (gasp) even modern science is subject to the Scripture. This is why some people think Christianity can be dangerous —we seem to reject modern scienceor what some consider to be healthy societal norms. The authority of Scripture means that the Bible is our final rule for faith and practice.
And the God who has spoken demands that we submit to the authority of His Word.
Corinth was a strategic city in the Roman empire. It was a seafaring port with a diverse, cosmopolitan crowd. Many in the city, and also the church, were probably used to riches and power. We’re going to look at this second letter to the Corinthians in this series. Why are we doing 2nd Corinthians? It is a book that we hope will be like a bowl of hearty, healthy broth that can reinvigorate our hearts, just as it did for the Corinthian church.
This is the last study in our Doctrine of Scripture series. We started our series with a speaking God, and we went through some of the attributes of Scripture — sufficient, clear, authoritative and necessary. Then we studied about the Canon of the Bible, how we have the set of books in our bibles today. Last week, we spoke about how Scripture cannot be broken. And we come to this week, where we want to trace the storyline of the Bible, because we know that what God says will come to pass!
What is the church? Christians often describe the church as a gathering. Yet, there is a lot of confusion about what the church is. In our world today, there is no end to Christian gatherings – small groups like these or our parachurch ministries on campus or our cell group in our church made up of people that are of a similar demographic to us. Today, we hope to study the Bible and see how God intended for His church to be.
For a school choir, one of the events that can really change things is going for a tour. You do everything together on a tour and that unites everyone in a common experience. It can inspire others who may not have been very interested in choir, to like singing.
Is the cross like that for us? Is it just a catalyst for positive change? Or is it more or less than that? Is it just a significant event? These are the questions we will be considering in today's lesson.
Both passages point us to one aspect of the cross-centred life. We will see that it's not so much about the lives we live and the things we do. It's about where the cross is in our lives and what it is doing there. We must understand that the cross-centred life is one of visible unity that is empowered by the cross.
We studied what Jesus teaches His disciples after he has risen. What now for the disciples? What are they suppose to do? What does the Holy Spirit do? What does it mean to have a spiritual experience? Does it mean you can perform miracles? Does it mean that you can see a vision, a dream, signs, etc.? Today, we will look at what the Bible tells us about the work of the Holy Spirit, and how that fits into the mission of the church.
The New Testament cannot be properly understood without the unfolding story of the Old Testament. St. Augustine once wisely said that "The New is in the Old contained, the Old is in the New explained." The key to understanding the NT is to understand the themes set up in the OT, and that's what we did in the previous session. This is also the context that we need to understand.
When we read any novel or book, where do we begin? Of course at the beginning, you'd say. It's a no brainer. And the Bible is no different really. I don't know about you, but sometimes I do struggle with reading the Bible. Certain chapters don't make sense. Narratives are easier, but when it comes to law and poetry, sometimes things seem complicated. Is it just for the intellectual few? No!
In this new series, we'll consider what the Bible's storyline is all about. Sometimes we think we know these things and assume that we've understood everything, but it really is worth pausing and reconsidering what the Bible says about itself, about God and about us. Ready? Let's begin right at the beginning, in Genesis to consider who God is and what is God's initial plan for you and me.
